Prey Of The Heart
by Zucht
Summary: Barbara is gravely ill and is calling a name...
1. Chapter 1 The Name

**Prey Of The Heart**

The day was dark, rain had been pouring for the last three days.

It was almost like the heavens were mourning the loss of one of it's brightest stars…

--

The young woman gently closed the door behind her and leaned back against it. As quietly as possible, she sniffed, then wiped at a tear that was threatening to fall. She clenched her teeth and leaned her head back, to wait for the grief to pass. Her friend and foster mother was not improving.

The doctor had been positive that the poison had been scrubbed from her system, but her recovery was not in his hands. He came by twice a day to check on her and to reassure himself that he had made the right decision.

To those that did not know him, the old man that puttered in the pantry appeared to be unaware that a fight for life was occurring to one of the people that he served; that would have been a mistake. The truth was that he loved his charges and would do anything for them. Experience told him that what was needed right now was steadiness, coffee, and hot soup.

The young heroine paced back and forth in front of a computer screen, waiting for the computer to give her something, anything, that she could take her frustration out on. Her friend and foster mother was not improving.

--

The gloom inside the Clock Tower was palatable as Alfred served young Miss Dinah the stew he had prepared. Of the three women that lived in there, he always counted Miss Helena as a resident, she was the only one that would sit at a table and allow him to serve her. This she did only after he had convinced her that learning the social graces would help her – socially. After a particularly embarrassing date, she was convinced.

Still, nothing he could teach her would prepare her for what she was going through…

The other woman at the table was busy taking her frustrations out on a dinner roll.

"Really, Miss Helena, was turning that roll into confetti necessary?"

She looked at him with contempt that softened into near humor, "It was an evil roll."

"Then surely it was a necessary action." He stoically replied as he turned and went to fetch a broom and dust pan.

"Helena?"

"Yea, runt."

"Barbara keeps calling a name. At first I thought she was talking about the doctor, but I don't think so. It seems like she knows this guy."

"Who are we talking about?"

"I don't know."

"I mean what name is she calling out?"

"Oh… sorry. She keeps calling Dick. I thought she meant the doctor, but..."

Helena interrupts, "She's calling for Dick Grayson."

"Nightwing?"

"The one and only."

"It sounds like you don't like him."

"Miss Helena doesn't know him." Alfred added upon his return, "Master Grayson was her father's first protégé, the original Robin."

"So what was his meta-human power?"

"Good to know that you are keeping up with the reading that Barbara has given you."

"What Miss Helena is trying to relate is that he is human. He is also an superb fighter, a skilled acrobat, and a brilliant detective."

"We should call him."

"No can do. Nobody's heard from him in years."

"Then we should find him."

"That's not a good idea, they had a falling out that she refuses to talk about."

"For once I agree with Miss Helena, the young Master's whereabouts are unknown and he wants it that way."

As they continued to discuss the matter, none of them noticed a dark figure make it's way through the Clock Tower toward Barbara Gordon's room…

--

Silently, the door opened and the figure slid inside. With care, he removed his mask and sat on the bed.

Gently, he took her hand in his and raised it to his lips. In an almost whisper, he said her name, "Barbara."

--

The End

**A/N:** I don't know if I will continue this story, for now, it is concluded.


	2. Chapter 2 The Rock

**Chapter 2**

_She put the kick stand down and killed the engine of her dirt bike. With a smile, she pulled her helmet off and shook out her hair. Her smile deepened as her companion caught up to her, sliding to a stop._

"_It's about time you caught up."_

"_I was just enjoying the view." He replied as he removed his own helmet, giving her a warm smile._

"_Yeah, right…" She unzipped her heavy black leather jacket and laid it over her bike's seat. "…We're in the middle of the grounds of the Wayne Estate; Dick, you've seen it all before."_

_He made sure that she saw him running his eyes down her light blue tank top to her very tight black leather pants. "Who said I was talking about the estate?"_

_The blush that rose from her was even more evident with her fair skin._

"_I can't believe that all you want to do on our first 'date' is a picnic – here."_

"_I never get to see the grounds." She explained as she turned and looked over the grounds from the hill top they were on._

"_I can't believe your father set us up."_

"_It was unexpected. Do you think he knows about us?"_

"_No, we weren't able to get together often and we were careful." He stepped behind her and slipped his arm around her waist. "But I'm sure Bruce knows. The only things that get by him are the things he lets get by."_

_She grabbed his wrist and twisted it, taking him to the ground._

"_Ouch!" He groaned and reached behind his head, pulling out the smooth rock that he had landed on. "Here you go cave-woman."_

"_Are you OK?" She looked at his face while absently she slid the rock he had handed to her into a pocket._

"_Nothing a little mouth-to-mouth can't cure…"_

--

The rock landed with a dull thud on the floor as the vision ended. Dr. Pieter Cross supported Dinah as her vision cleared and she regained her equilibrium.

"You need to sit down."

"No," she stood up straight and reassured the doctor, "I'm fine. Where did you get that rock?"

"It was in Barbara's hand when I went in to check on her this morning."

"How is she?"

"Much calmer, resting peacefully; I think the worst is over."

Dinah squatted and retrieved the rock, holding it up for a closer look.

"Does it mean something to you?"

"No," she answered, "but it does to Barbara."

--

TBC…


	3. Chapter 3 The Vision

**Prey Of The Heart**

**Chapter 3**

Dinah sat facing Helena, as the Delphi Computer's multi-screen display showed the various searches that it was running in its search for Richard Grayson, with a rock floating between them…

"Are you sure that she didn't have it before today?"

"Helena, I never saw it before, but that doesn't matter. She didn't have it when Dr. Cross examined her at 6:30 last night. I didn't see it when I cleaned her up and replaced her I.V. later. But Dr. Cross found it in her hand when he checked on her this morning. She's too sick to have gotten up to get it, and neither Alfred nor I gave it to her."

Helena put her hands on her hips and cocked her head slightly, "What did you find on the surveillance tapes?"

"Nothing but a couple of glitches."

"And that has you believing that Di-ck was here?"

"I think so… According to his bio he has the skills; even though the Clock Tower was established as a lair after he disappeared, his familiararity with Wayne Industries and the Batman's M.O. could give him the expertise to by-pass our security network. To prove it I need to find something that he touched."

"What are you going to do, wander around touching everything in here?"

"Just sorting through all the visions I would encounter would take too long."

"So what are you going to do?"

"Dinah stood and crossed her arms as she looked Helena in the eye, "I'm going to let you find what I need."

"And just how am I to do that?"

"I know the duration and time stamps of the security glitches. With that information you are going to find the route he used to break in and go undetected by security, and you, Alfred, Dr. Cross and myself." She saw a bit of fire in Helena's eyes before a smirk appeared on her lips.

"You're starting to sound like her you know."

"Smart and confident?"

"No… Bossy."

Dinah grimaced.

"OK, Junior Crime Fighter… where do I start?"

--

It took the two of them half the day to figure out the most probable route to Barbara's room using the criteria that Dinah had set up. She ran across the first vision where he must have watched waiting for them to leave the common room…

_Dick is running down a hospital corridor, scanning room numbers until he finds room 606 – with a placard that read, Barbara Gordon. He stopped and inhaled deeply a few times before pushing through the door._

"_Barbara?" He exclaimed in a hushed tone,_

_She lay in the spartan room, on a stark white bed, hooked up to monitors that her refused to acknowledge. He pulled a chair to her side and picked up her hand, cradling it in his; he bowed his head and kissed the knuckle beside the engagement ring._

_A movement caught his attention – her eyes were open and she was crying…_

The view shifted to a different room and a healthier, very upset Barbara…

"_I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" She cried, her face slick with tears._

_Dick held her hand, but looked pale, his eyes were red from retrained tears, "It's not your fault, Sweetheart."_

"_I should have been more careful."_

"_He is insane…"_

"_I-I shouldn't have let my guard down!"_

_He placed his hand on her abdomen and she flinched._

"_Barbara," he started softly, "we can get through this… You'll be fine."_

_She pushed his hand off of her stomach._

"_How?" she wailed, "How am I to get past this!?"_

"_We…"_

And the image jumped again, to inside an apartment…

"…_Let me in, Barbara!"_

"_You're standing right in front of me!" _The coolness in her voice could be felt, even in the shade of a telepathic remembrance.

_He reached for her and she stepped back._

"_No!"_

"_You need help." _

_The pain and hurt in his voice didn't even register on the young woman's face._

"_I don't need help!"_

"_You won't touch me!" He repeated, "You won't touch me! You won't talk to me or anyone else! You're father is scared. Even Bruce is asking about you…"_

_She picked up a mug to throw at him._

"_Do it, Barbara! Throw it! Do something!"_

_Calmly, eerily calmly, she placed the mug back on the table and stared at him, "Get out."_

"_Barbara…"_

"_Get out!"_

"_Please…"  
_

_Anger filled her eyes and deliberately she held up her hand and removed her engagement ring. She tossed it to him and turned her back, "Get out and don't come back." The monotone way in which she addressed him was as damaging as a lead pipe to his skull._

"_Barbara…"_

"_Now!"_

_He stared at her for a minute, and then laid the ring on the floor along with his copy of the key to her apartment. With a silent sigh he turned and walked out…_

"Miss Dinah!" Alfred's strangled exclamation interrupted her vision. He turned to face away from her and saw Huntress, "Really, Miss Helena! Would you care to explain why Miss Dinah is... unrobed?"

**XxxxxxxxxxxxX**

**TBC…**


	4. Chapter 4 Thr Voyeur

**Prey Of The Heart**

**Chapter 4**

He couldn't help but laugh at what he was hearing; it was good to hear Alfred's poise around the two girls. It took him a matter of seconds to activate the video from the Clock Tower; if Barbara had been up he never would have gotten away with tapping into the tower's surveillance system. Feeling like a voyeur, he had turned off the video when Dinah had disrobed.

Her abilities impressed him; she had pulled the basic story of his and Barbara's story from just touching the places that he had touched –despite the fact that he had worn gloves. He was glad that her ability was being honed by Barbara; such ability could easily be abused and corrupted.

The explanation given to Alfred by Helena was plausible…

--

"…Seriously, all she's doing is maximizing her interaction with the area. You know that she needs to touch something that the intruder touched and clothes often mask her effectiveness."

"Really, Miss Helena…"

"Besides, aren't you supposed to be at the Manor today?"

"I wanted to check on Miss Barbara."

"So that gives you the right to intrude in a home with only women in it?"

"I-I…"

"Relax, Alfred… I'm just kidding, you are always welcome here. Just don't act so… indignant when – well you are in their home."

"I understand, Miss…"

"And cut the 'Miss Helena' part out."

Her eyes narrowed when he answered, "Certainly, Miss Helena."

--

It was several hours later when he turned off his monitor for the night. Helena and Alfred had left for the night and Dinah had turned in an hour earlier. He donned his mask and leapt off his balcony to glide across the avenue to the building across from his. The trip to the Clock Tower took just under 20 minutes and allowed his senses to sharpen. It took him another 20 minutes to enter the tower, bypass security and reach his ex-paramour's bed.

He knelt by the bed, removed his mask and gloves then picked up her hand. "Barbara, I miss you… I should have been… We should have been together. I never stopped loving you, even when you pushed me away. I wanted to be with you, to share your pain, to give you comfort – the comfort we both needed…"

--

Dinah stood in the hall, across from Barbara's door; listening to the man pouring his heart out to the woman he once loved. She wondered if he still really loved her, and not for the first time wondered what had transpired between the two. At first she thought he had cheated then changed her mind thinking he had done something insensitive. Now she just wondered…

--

"…Damn it, Red! Wake up and scream at me. Call me all the names you used too and all the one's you've ever heard…"

--

It was near dawn when he arose and placed a soft kiss on her lips. He took a deep breath and put his mask and gloves back on. Quietly, he stepped into the hallway and the embrace of a crying blonde.

**XxxxxxxxxxxxX**

**TBC…**


End file.
